The environment and health effects of international trade

Trade promotes economic growth but also generates significant environmental externalities. However, the effects of international trade on environmental health across economies remain insufficiently revealed. This study constructs an integrated assessment framework to explore the dual impacts of international trade on air pollution and public health in developed economies (the North) and developing economies (the South). The results indicate that in 2017, international trade increased the global population-weighted mean PM2.5 (PWM-PM2.5) concentration by 9.2% (4μg/m3), resulting in 612,728 premature deaths and a loss of $1.16 trillion in health benefits. In particular, the environmental health impacts of Northern trade, driven by consumer demand in developed economies, are significantly higher than those of Southern trade, which is dominated by consumer demand in developing economies. Furthermore, international trade exacerbates environmental health inequalities among economies. However, it should be noted that international trade also avoided 123,991 premature deaths and a loss of $0.83 trillion in health benefits by facilitating the separation of consumption and production. Therefore, effectively addressing the pollution burden associated with international trade should focus on the environmental health of densely populated developing economies, strengthening assistance from developed economies to developing economies, and building global green supply chains rather than relying on trade protectionist measures.